A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 421 Spring Thunder - Prologue

Spring thunder rumbled, and the many events that occurred this spring were like lightning, falling one after another, startling the birds and beasts in the forest and causing panic among the people of the continent of Feloren.

Rorschach received a deluge of news:

The Empire's first admission of defeat in the war sent shockwaves through the domestic market; Count Srefen, the Imperial Marshal, stepped down, and his student and friend of the Crown Prince, Helmut, succeeded him as Marshal and Chief of the General Staff; Valois, having shed its once noble head, transformed into a republic; and Otto secretly visited the Kingdom of Bain.

This Otto does not refer to His Highness the Prince, but rather to the current Chancellor of the Empire. The Chancellor's schedule has not been publicly reported.

At the landing point of Munik's airship, the eldest prince was by his father's side. The First and Second Legions of Bain, which he nominally led, had returned to the kingdom.

The prime minister's vehicle, indistinguishable from any other airship, descended from the clouds. The giant beast slowly crouched down and opened its belly. The prime minister's car, the multicolored horses, the secretariat, the servants, and the bodyguards emerged from the "belly."

The horses must be mixed breeds because the prime minister is honest and approachable, but the horses must be transported by air because these "mixed breeds" are all purebreds that have undergone rigorous training since their four hooves touched the ground. They are obedient and will not be frightened even if the sky falls.

In this way, the four horses were fitted with harnesses and pulled the carriage toward the welcoming party.

Amidst the music, the eldest prince looked displeased, for he hadn't seen the Imperial Chancellor emerge from the airship. Did he intend to meet the father and son by carriage? If so, it would be extremely arrogant and impolite, and such an attitude would be interpreted as a reflection of the Empire's attitude towards Byrne.

The old King Albert remained unmoved, but he now had a strong premonition that Chancellor Otto was not on the airship.

Before the carriage even reached them, a secretary in a civil service uniform trotted across the carpet to the King and the eldest prince. The secretary bowed and announced, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, the Prime Minister is not traveling on this airship. He insisted on entering Bain by another means, so we apologize."

"So what does he want to do?"

The secretary lowered his head and didn't look up again: "It happened so suddenly, I didn't know anything about it. The Prime Minister asked me to tell His Majesty that he will definitely offer his deepest apologies when he formally meets with you."

"Very well, we'll wait for them at the palace." The king stroked his cane, already guessing how the visitors had arrived and where they were now.

The secretary, bowing her head, offered a string of thanks. The eldest prince, who had been trying to control his emotions, could not hide his surprise, as if to say: Is that all?

In front of Munik's Magic Guild building, there was a strange car. Its paint was a bright red, and its luster and texture were comparable to the most exquisite and expensive porcelain in the Far East.

The car's design is mainly curved, with a rounded overall shape. As for its streamlined shape, it's too early to consider wind resistance at this speed.

It had no biological power source in front of it, whether it had two legs or four. In short, this vehicle was a strange sight even parked at the entrance of the magic guild.

The people who stepped out of the car were Rorschach, dressed in a mage's robe, and Andrei, dressed in an apprentice's robe. This was the first time in a long time that they had worn the "formal attire" of spellcasters, because today the two were to welcome the mage, Forest Tower, who was in charge of guiding the spring plowing work. According to reliable information from a certain dry old man, the one who came was actually the archmage Alexander von Humboldt.

It's likely true that he provided guidance on spring plowing, but who would believe that a dignified high-ranking monk would just casually rummage through the fields when he came to Bai'en?

Andrei's [Communication] skills are becoming increasingly proficient: "Spring planting is almost over, what brings the master here?" He didn't know how to evaluate it: "If you say the Forest Tower values ​​us, they've already sent a round of mages to various parts of the empire, and Bain should be the last stop? If you say they don't value us, then it's an archmage who came."

"So... never mind, let's just not let them hear us." Rorschach had been caught using the [Telecommunications] spell before. This spell wasn't reliable in front of people with high perception. It was one thing to chat in a Muggle field, but they were in the Magic Guild now.

Rorschach handed Cobb's token to the staff, and after verification, the two were taken to the basement level, to the guild's communication system lobby. Originally, after Byrne's telegraph was set up, the guild's related business had been somewhat quiet, but now that the world's nerves were on high alert, these "synapses" had begun to busily transmit information again.

However, they weren't there to receive letters, but to receive living people. This was a confidential matter; non-essential staff left with their tasks, the teleportation array paused the transfer of other items, and went into full-scale communication with the other end.

Andrei's eyes widened; it was the first time he had ever seen the guild's teleportation array function in its original way. Rorschach then repeated the information Kanona had obtained: "Once the teleportation system reaches its peak power, it can teleport people. Currently, only archmages have the authority to use it, and only one person can be teleported at a time."

Then the rainbow light flashed and faded, and two figures appeared on the magic circle.

"No, this is dangerous! What's the difference between this and two people pressing against each other to get through the station gate?" Luo Xia silently made a note of it; the slap in the face he'd delivered today had to be passed on to Master Cano.

Among the people who were teleported in was Master Humboldt, who looked much the same as when they last met, and greeted Rorschach with a smile.

"This is the apprentice Andrei."

"Nice to meet you." Humboldt extended his large, birch-bark-like hand—smooth yet resilient. It was Andrei's first time shaking hands with the Archmage, and he was a little excited.

When it was Humboldt's turn to introduce his smuggled "personal item," the master simply said, "This is Byrne's guest."

Rorschach had been observing the old man for some time. His white mustache was well-groomed, and his eyes were resolute, but they would occasionally flicker, probably as he was glancing around out of the corner of his eye—like Andrei, this place was probably a first for him.

Humboldt tried to help the old man down, but he refused and instead supported himself as he stepped off the magic circle platform. His figure and face resembled those of an old man from Byrne who liked to drink beer, but his demeanor and beard gave him an imposing aura.

Judging from the glowing light, he wasn't carrying any spellcasting materials, but there was light emanating from his cufflinks and rings, and a faint glow on his chest, likely from a pendant he wore inside. Such concealed, glowing ornaments are probably not for aesthetic purposes, but rather passively triggered magical items, possibly defensive accessories to protect the upper body.

Rorschach, recalling the rumors circulating, guessed the identity of this uninvited guest and bowed slightly to the old man: "I didn't expect you to come to Bain via the guild's teleportation. Welcome, Your Excellency."

"Master Luo Xia, I've heard of your name back in the capital." The prime minister, who was riding on Master Humboldt's "tailwind formation," nodded in response to Luo Xia.

(End of this chapter)